GOING, GOING, GONE
Walgreens customers brace for store closures just weeks after its CEO confirmed wave of shutdowns across US
This is part of a larger plan to focus on parts of the US business that "have a future," its CEO said.
WALGREENS, one of the country's largest drug store chains, plans to weed out its underperforming branches.
It comes after its CEO confirmed widespread closures across the US this year.
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The pharmacy chain has not yet announced which specific stores are affected.
A spokesperson for Walgreens told The U.S. Sun, "Approximately 25% of Walgreens stores are not contributing to our long-term strategy. We’re finalizing an optimization program that we expect will include closing a significant portion of these locations over the next three years.
We are also taking a series of actions and making investments to enhance the customer and patient experience."
Walgreens confirmed it will close a significant portion of its roughly 8,600 US stores, Walgreens Boots Alliance chief executive officer Tim Wentworth told The Wall Street Journal.
Read More About Closures
“We recognize where we are is a turnaround,” he said.
“We recognize that we need to be focused on what are the parts of the business that we believe are contributing and have a future, and some of those need to change," he reportedly added.
Some locations have already closed.
Walgreens locations have permanently closed, temporarily closed, or closed down some of its pharmacies temporarily.
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Among those that permanently closed are:
- 6199 Sunrise Blvd, Citrus Heights, California
- 4220 Missouri Flat Rd, Placerville, California
- 840 El Camino Ave, Sacramento, California
- 4201 Concord Pike, Wilmington, Delaware
- 32979 Coastal Hwy, Bethany Beach, Delaware
- 124 E Main St, Newark, Delaware
- 3301 Lancaster Pike, Wilmington, Delaware
- 1900 Maryland Ave, Wilmington, Delaware
- 25 Peachtree St, Atlanta, Georgia
- 842 E Main St, Danville, Illinois
- 606 Walnut St, Des Moines, Iowa
- 1805 N Brady St, Davenport, Iowa
- 78 Main St, Westfield, Massachusetts
- 918 Riverview Dr, Kalamazoo, Michigan
- 14048 Woodward Ave, Highland Park, Michigan
- 1400 N Grand Blvd, St. Louis, Missouri
- 4121 Hoover Ave, Dayton, Ohio
- 210 E Barnett Rd, Medford, Oregon
- 5602 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, Washington
The U.S. Sun has written about other closures, amid fears of a retail apocalypse.
Over 3,000 major retail stores will be closing this year alone.
Chicago, according to an exclusive story from the U.S. Sun, is among U.S. cities that risk being severely affected by this.
History of Walgreens
Walgreens operates one of the largest pharmacy chains in the US.
The company specializes in filling prescriptions, offering health and wellness products, providing health information, and delivering photo services.
Founded in Chicago in 1901, Walgreens is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.
On December 31, 2014, Walgreens merged with Switzerland-based Alliance Boots to form a new holding company, Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Walgreens became a subsidiary of this new entity, which continues to be headquartered in Deerfield and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol WBA.
In 2021, a federal jury found that Walgreens had significantly contributed to the opioid crisis.
In June 2024, Walgreens announced plans to close a “significant portion” of its 8,600 US locations by 2027.